


It's Okay Not to Be Okay

by brutalitytailor



Series: Seventeen Short Stories [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, I just wanted something soft about Hao, I miss him and I hope he's okay, Injury, Insecurity, Minghao is just really sad, Minghao's back injury, mingyu is a good friend, non-au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 22:26:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13420902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brutalitytailor/pseuds/brutalitytailor
Summary: Minghao still hasn't recovered from his back injury, and he's scared everyone thinks he's useless.





	It's Okay Not to Be Okay

It was completely silent in the Seventeen dorm. Everyone was asleep after a long day of practicing.

 

Except Minghao. Minghao was lying silently in his bed, staring up into the darkness. He hadn’t been able to sleep well the last week.

 

It had been weeks since they announced to everyone that he was taking a break due to a back injury, and nothing had happened for him. He wasn’t allowed to practice. He wasn’t allowed to perform. He could do nothing but sit around and watch.

 

He felt completely useless.

 

He sat up slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat. He needed a drink to calm himself down. He couldn’t afford to get worked up and wake the entire dorm. Rising silently, he glanced around to make sure no one was stirring. Jun, Hansol, Wonwoo, and Soonyoung were all still sleeping soundly.

 

He shuffled into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. He leaned back against the counter, sipping it. His mind wouldn’t shut up.

 

_ Useless, useless, useless… _

 

Before he even realized it, his face was burning and his eyes were prickling with the threat of tears. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the feeling to go away.

 

“I’m not useless. I’m not useless.” He mouthed to himself.

 

_ Useless, useless, useless… _

 

“‘Hao?” A groggy voice has his eyes springing open in surprise. Mingyu stood in the doorway, hair ruffled and eyes still half-closed. Minghao bit his lip. Mingyu had been practicing and sweating all day, and Minghao had interrupted the sleep his friend desperately needed.

 

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He apologized, bowing his head.

 

“You didn’t wake me. I had to pee and when I got up I noticed the light on in here.” Mingyu rubbed at his eyes, leaning against the door frame. Minghao still couldn’t help but feel guilty.

 

“You should go back to sleep. You had a long day. And there’s more practice tomorrow.” Minghao set his water down on the counter.

 

“Are you okay? What are you doing up?” Mingyu blinked sleepily at him. How did he still look so handsome and put together after literally rolling out of bed?

 

“Yeah, I’m all good. Just thirsty.” He lied.

 

“Don’t lie to me, okay? I know you haven’t been sleeping well. I can tell.” Mingyu looked slightly more awake now, striding slowly toward him. Minghao swallowed the lump that had reappeared in his throat.

 

“I’m really alright. My sleep schedule is just a little off.” He replied. Mingyu sighed and came to stand in front of him. He took Minghao’s face in his hands without warning.

 

“Your back hurts still. And you’re scared that we think you’re useless.” He said this with complete confidence, giving a small, sympathetic smile at the end.

 

“How… did you know that?” Minghao whispered.

 

“Wonwoo said roughly the same thing when he was really sick and had to be out for so long. Did you think he was useless then? When he had to stay home and get better?”

 

“Of course not.” Minghao murmured, trying to avoid Mingyu’s gaze.

 

“Then why on earth would we think you were? You’re hurt. You need to rest and recover. When you come back, you’ll be better and ready to jump back in.” Mingyu said softly, rubbing Minghao’s cheekbones with the pads of his thumbs.

 

The tears Minghao had desperately tried to push away were bubbling to the surface. He pulled out of Mingyu’s grip and turned away, holding onto the counter with one hand and covering his face with the other. Mingyu held him from behind, shushing him softly.

 

“I’m sorry.” Minghao tried to keep his voice from wavering uncontrollably.

 

“Don’t you dare apologize, Xu Minghao. We love you. We want you to feel better.” Mingyu swayed back and forth, rocking them both gently. Minghao sniffled, desperately trying to calm down. This is the last thing he wanted. He was being a burden.

 

“Please, just go back to bed and get some rest. I’m going to be alright.” He begged. Mingyu hummed and spun him around suddenly.

 

“Fine. But you’re coming too. I don’t want you to be alone.” He grabbed Minghao’s hand and led him out of the kitchen, shutting the light off as he went. Minghao was dragged into the room Mingyu shared with Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Jihoon.

 

Mingyu flopped into bed, pulling Minghao down with him. He shuffled over to make room and pulled the blankets over both of them. Minghao let himself be pulled into Mingyu’s chest, closing his eyes. He breathed in the smell of Mingyu - melon bodywash, the fresh-flower-scented laundry detergent they all used, the slight whiff of the cologne Mingyu wore.

 

Mingyu was stroking his hair softly, saying nothing, waiting for Minghao to move or speak.

 

“Thank you.” Minghao finally whispered against his chest.

 

“What for?” Mingyu whispered back.

 

“Making me feel a little better.” He rubbed his forehead against Mingyu’s plain white t-shirt. His tears were finally fading as he calmed down.

 

“I’m just stating the truth,” Mingyu pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Now go to sleep. Get some rest.” He continued to stroke Minghao’s hair.

 

Minghao nodded, letting himself completely relax.

 

“I love you.” He murmured.

 

“Love you too. Now shush.” Mingyu rumbled a quiet laugh and tickled his face. Minghao couldn’t help smiling, cuddling closer to Mingyu and allowing his mind to let go of all thoughts.

 

He was asleep before he even realized, no evidence of tears left.

 

***

 

“Shhhh, you’re going to wake them up!” A voice hissed somewhere near Minghao. He stirred, trying to roll over, but was held in place by something large and warm. He cracked one eye open and was met with the sight of someone’s chest in front of his face. An arm was slung across his waist, holding him close like a teddy bear. He tilted his head up. Mingyu was still very much asleep, mouth hanging open slightly.

 

He turned his head. Jeonghan was snapping a picture of the two of them, grinning wildly.

 

“Hyuuuuung.” Minghao whined, letting his head fall back onto the pillow.

 

“What on earth are you doing in here, ‘Hao?” Jeonghan giggled, perching on the edge of the bed. Minghao groaned and buried his face in Mingyu’s chest.

 

“Hmmm?” Mingyu hummed groggily. Minghao felt him pick his head up to see what was going on. “Oh, hi hyung.”

 

“Hi, sleeping beauty. Any reason the two of you are all snuggled up? Not that I’m complaining. It makes me happy to see my dongsaengs all cozied up together.”

 

“He took about a million pictures.” Jihoon murmured from his bed, still half-asleep.

 

“Minghao couldn’t sleep. He was sad. So I made it better.” Mingyu was definitely not coherent enough to fully explain yet, so Minghao sighed and rolled over to face Jeonghan. Mingyu immediately closed the gap, pressed against his back like a koala.

 

“I haven’t been able to sleep well. I was worried you guys were getting angry with me for not recovering yet.” He admitted, not looking Jeonghan in the eye.

 

“What? Of course we aren’t angry with you!” Jeonghan frowned and reached to rub his shoulder.

  
“Told you.” Mingyu snorted.

 

“We love you. We will always love you. And we’ll support you no matter how long it takes you to recover.” Seungcheol added as he shuffled over to the bed. He crouched down to be eye-level with Minghao and smiled.

 

“I would declare a cuddle pile, but I don’t want to hurt your back even more. So kisses it is!” Jeonghan cheered. Minghao screamed in anguish and Jeonghan planted a huge, sloppy kiss on his cheek. Seungcheol followed suit, cackling and pressing a kiss to his forehead. He felt Mingyu kiss the back of his neck and squirmed, trying to free himself.

 

“Quick! Everyone! Minghao needs kisses!” Jeonghan yelled as loudly as he could.

 

In the blink of an eye, the rest of the group was suddenly crowding into the room. Some of them were completely ready, while some were still rubbing sleep from their eyes. He was attacked with several more kisses, screaming the entire time.

 

“Love you, hyung!” Seungkwan sang, peppering several more kisses before he finally backed away. Minghao wondered if he thought he was going to get attacked if he kept going.

 

Finally, the kisses died down and everyone went back to the normal routine. Minghao sighed and shook his head.

 

“You’re all going to be the death of me.”

 

“Yes, but you love us.” Jeonghan retorted, pinching his cheek.

 

“Yes. I love you all. I really do.” Minghao couldn’t help but smile. Maybe things would be alright after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


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